Down a Garden Path | The Hotel Hershey's Formal Gardens

The formal gardens at The Hotel Hershey are a joy to wander around on a sultry summer evening. Before the Hotel even existed, these gardens were here, built to beautify the town reservoirs. The reservoirs are still a highlight of the formal gardens today.

From the plaque at the hotel:

"In 1914, the Hershey Water Company broke ground for new water reservoirs to serve the growing community. True to Milton Hershey's style, the reservoirs were landscaped to become a focal point of a new picnic area, Highland Park, completed in April 1915. The reservoirs, bordered by a concrete balustrade, gazebos and wooden pergolas, looked like decorative reflecting pools. In fact, the reservoirs are thirty feet deep and hold one million gallons of water.

"The beds that hold today's formal gardens were laid out following the construction of the Highland reservoirs. The grounds were extensively landscaped with flowerbeds and hundreds of rose bushes cascading down the slopes of Highland Park. These gardens were restored beginning in the summer of 1990. The present gazebos were rebuilt, walkways repaired and circulating fountains were installed in the reservoirs."

Comments

[Bucket Trucks]

Gorgeous place! I really liked the pool area.